It’s not me, it’s you: gig workers send Valentine’s message to employers

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Good evening.

Thinking of a nice meal delivered from your favourite restaurant to mark Valentine’s Day this evening? Think again: today’s the day for an international strike of gig workers on traditionally their busiest night of the year.

Couriers from Deliveroo and Just Eat, as well as drivers for ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft are protesting across the US, Canada and the UK in a dispute over pay, just as the big gig economy companies face increased pressure from shareholders to finally deliver on their promise of consistent profits.

Uber today announced its first share buyback programme, just days after reporting its first full year of operating profit. The company has reflected the broader trend in tech for profligate spending to grab market share before being forced to refocus on profitability as interest rates rose and it became harder to raise capital. Rival Lyft also reported improving finances (albeit not as dramatic as an earnings release typo had implied).

Europe’s food delivery apps are also beginning to serve up profits, notes the Lex column (for Premium subscribers). Even in the middle of a cost of living crisis, they have been able to extract more from their customers without causing them to quit the apps. Demographics are also working in their favour as delivery-prone youngsters carry on with their habit as their disposable income increases.

The rights of gig workers meanwhile have become a legal battleground on both sides of the Atlantic as campaigners push for greater transparency on how fares are split between drivers and apps, and policymakers grapple with how to regulate the growing sector.

New York last year imposed a new minimum wage law for gig workers, while European parliament and Council negotiators last week reached a provisional deal on improving their working conditions after landmark rules were agreed by EU regulators in December following years of discussions.

Gig economy companies protest that they will be hit by higher costs, such as extra payments for paternity leave and healthcare. The European Commission estimated the regulations would push up prices for services from companies such as Uber and Bolt by 40 per cent, but Nicolas Schmit, commissioner for jobs and social rights, told the FT that consumers would be happy to pay more to protect workers’ rights.

In the UK, gig workers received a setback when the Supreme Court ruled in November that Deliveroo riders could not be recognised as workers in an employment relationship or represented by trade unions for collective bargaining. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which has the largest membership of app-based couriers in the country, had fought the case for more than seven years.

Alfie Pearce-Higgins, co-founder of Rodeo, an app used by UK delivery drivers to track and analyse earnings, said today’s action highlighted the lack of transparency around pay as a “serious failing” of the gig economy model. 

“There are a lot of drivers who want to be flexible and independent, but that independence only really works if there is a competitive, transparent market and we think that is lacking,” Pearce-Higgins said.

The Uber Game: Can you make it in the gig economy? You’re a full-time Uber driver with two kids and a mortgage. Can you earn enough to pay the bills — and make more than other players?

Need to know: UK and Europe economy

Eurozone industrial production rose in December for the first time since February last year, despite the bloc’s major economies reporting flat or falling output. In Germany, output fell for the second consecutive month as a manufacturing slump continued but investors are starting to turn more optimistic on the country’s prospects for this year.

European Central Bank vice-president Luis de Guindos said it was too early to cut interest rates. “Wage pressures remain high and we do not yet have sufficient data to confirm they are starting to ease,” he said.

The EU is scaling back its post-Brexit ambitions to lure lucrative derivative trading business away from London and bolster its own financial markets.

Need to know: global economy

Investors dialled down their expectations of a US interest rate cut in May after higher than expected consumer price inflation of 3.1 per cent in January.

The sell off in global bond markets combined with a rally in stocks suggests a return to the longer term norm now that investors’ obsession with inflation and interest rates seems to be ending.

The US Senate approved a $95bn bill that includes aid to Ukraine, but the proposal risks languishing in the House of Representatives because of Donald Trump’s opposition. Nato members, also the target of Trump’s ire, have hit record levels of spending on defence. Our latest Big Read discusses whether Germany can deliver on its grand military ambitions.

Global demand for liquefied natural gas will surge 50 per cent by 2040 as the green transition solidifies, according to Shell. LNG has grown in importance since Russia slashed its pipeline gas supplies to Europe, prompting the region to secure the supercooled fuel to replace the lost volumes.

Counting is under way in Indonesia in the poll to elect a successor to president Joko Widodo. Prabowo Subianto, a former general with a controversial military past who promises to retain Widodo’s policies, is the frontrunner in the three-way race to become leader of the youthful, resource-rich democracy.

The FT editorial board said the Pakistan election result sent a clear message: the country is tired of being led by “self-serving political elites and the military’s arbitration”. Jailed former PM Imran Khan slammed his rivals in the country’s dynastic parties as they manoeuvred to form a ruling coalition.

The Indian opposition coalition is disintegrating months before national elections, hit by infighting, defections and arrests, leaving incumbent prime minister Narendra Modai in an even stronger position to win a third term.

Have rising insurance premiums become a de facto carbon levy for consumers? A Big Read looks at the spiralling cost of insuring against climate disasters. Columnist Pilita Clark discusses how to do climate policy in the age of the green backlash.

Need to know: Business

Latham & Watkins, the world’s second highest-grossing law firm, is cutting off automatic access to its international databases for its Hong Kong-based lawyers, underlining how Beijing’s closer control of the territory is forcing global firms to rethink the way they operate.

Tui, Europe’s largest travel operator, reported better than expected sales in the last quarter of 2023 thanks to “more customers and higher prices,” underlining the strength of the post-pandemic travel boom.

Heineken, the world’s second largest brewer, said higher prices had knocked back sales as it delivered a “disappointing” profit outlook for this year. Coca-Cola on the other hand was able to report better than expected revenues while continuing to raise prices by as much as a quarter.

Should you believe the hype? Lex columnist June Yoon says the transformation for business triggered by AI may take many years longer than today’s stock prices and funding expectations suggest. Academic and EU adviser Marietje Schaake claims AI is too important to be monopolised and that public investment is essential.

Sunday’s Super Bowl was the second most-watched broadcast in US history after the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, with 123mn households tuning in.

The World of Work

The Working It podcast speaks to Stanford professor and author Huggy Rao on why “sh*t-fixers” make the best managers, clearing unnecessary obstacles from the path of their teams, while making sure they don’t go too fast for their own good. 

Academic and peer Alison Wolf makes the case for improving the UK’s failing apprenticeships system. Apprentices are increasingly older people who are already employed and then get reclassified as apprentices, she writes, while openings for young people, especially the most deprived, have fallen fast.

Some good news

The vital marine habitats of coral reefs cover much more of our planet than previously thought, according to a breakthrough in mapping technology which will allow scientists to better understand and manage reef systems.

Source: Economy - ft.com